BSL fans have until February 15 to vote online for the city itself and nine local businesses to be named "Best in Mississippi" by Mississippi Magazine.
​- by Lisa Monti
- Shoofly Magazine file photos by Ellis Anderson

Use the direct links below to vote now for all our BSL contenders (you can vote once a week!). Scroll down for our story - after you vote, of course!

Bay St. Louis itself is a contender in four categories:

The Mockingbird Café is a hub of family activities in Old Town, helping make BSL's downtown what we think is the best in the state! The Mockingbird also helps make the Shoofly Magazine possible for all by being an Annual Sponsor!

California Drawstrings in 126 Main Street is only one of the great shops BSL offers. They're also a Shoofly Magazine Annual Sponsor!

Bay St. Louis has a total of 13 nominations for the 2020 Best of Mississippi contest for favorite places to eat, shop and visit in the state. Online voting begins today and will run through Feb. 15. Mississippi Magazine, the contest sponsor, collected the nominations from Nov. 15 to Dec. 15, and Bay St. Louis businesses garnered nine nominations in several categories plus four for the city itself: Best Place to Live, Best Place for a Weekend Trip, Best Downtown and Best Overall Shopping Destination.The Bay St. Louis businesses nominated for the best in the state are The French Potager (Best Floral Shop/Designer); Fields Steak & Oyster Bar (New Restaurant); Sycamore House (Fine Dining); Smith & Lens (Art Gallery); Social Chair (Fashion Accessories); Bay Books (Bookstore); Bay Town Inn (Bed & Breakfast); Starfish Cafe (Healthy Restaurant); and Blind Tiger (Outdoor Dining).

This is the third nomination for The French Potager, which won top honors in 2018. Owner Martha Whitney Butler calls the statewide bragging rights “a big deal” to business owners as well as for customers, who can be assured that “they’re dealing with the best in Mississippi.”She said the floral category is especially competitive since there’s a college program in Mississippi offering professional training. “It’s nice to be able to have this lifetime honor, with all the talent in Mississippi in floral design,” she said.

Martha Whitney Butler at the French Potager on Main Street

Nikki Moon, owner of The Bay Town Inn, says of her first nomination, “There are almost 100 bed and breakfasts throughout Mississippi and to be nominated as best in the state is humbling indeed."

"And to be among these wonderful, creative businesses in the Bay speaks to the quality of the type of merchants and food establishments that we're known for. This very special city is not a secret any longer.”You can cast your vote in each category once a week through Feb. 15 on the Mississippi Magazine website or here on this Shoofly Magazine page, where we've set up direct links to all BSL contestants. Bookmark the page and set reminders to vote.

According to Butler, being an enthused and frequent voter shows "how much we love our town. I wake up every day knowing that I live, work and raise my family in the most wonderful place in the state."

Butler adds that multiple wins in the contest will demonstrate to the people of Mississippi "what we in Bay St. Louis already know - how great we really are!" Winners will be announced in the May/June issue of the magazine.